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Dorset

Unitary authority

The south east of the South West. 391,036 people in 2,491 square kilometres.

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Deprivation by neighbourhood

English Indices of Deprivation 2025

Most deprived 10%Least

9 of Dorset’s 223 neighbourhoods are in England’s most deprived 20%.

Average house price
£325,154
Down 0.1% in a year
HM Land Registry · Jul 2026
Median full-time pay
£37,462
140th lowest of 348
ONS earnings survey · 2025
House price to pay
8.7×
98th least affordable of 348
Worked out by Open Index
Deprivation score
16.3
116th least deprived of 296
MHCLG · England only

How Dorset compares

Each dot is a council. The black line marks the middle one.

DorsetMiddle
Average house price360 areas, UK · Jul 2026
Average house price: every council in UK360 areas from £115,401 to £1,232,640. The middle area is £272,474. Dorset is £325,154.
£325,154127th highest
Annual price change360 areas, UK · Jul 2026
Annual price change: every council in UK360 areas from −20.7% to 12.8%. The middle area is 2.3%. Dorset is −0.1%.
−0.1%joint 95th weakest
Median full-time pay348 areas, Great Britain · 2025
Median full-time pay: every council in Great Britain348 areas from £29,805 to £57,396. The middle area is £38,490. Dorset is £37,462.
£37,462140th lowest
House price to pay348 areas, Great Britain · 2025
House price to pay: every council in Great Britain348 areas from 3.1× to 23.4×. The middle area is 7.3×. Dorset is 8.7×.
8.7×joint 98th least affordable
Deprivation scoreEngland only296 areas, England · 2025
Deprivation score: every council in England296 areas from 5.9 to 43.5. The middle area is 19.0. Dorset is 16.3.
16.3joint 116th least deprived

Every council ranked: average house price, annual price change, median full-time pay, house price to pay and deprivation score.

England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland each measure deprivation their own way, so Open Index never ranks them together.

House prices since 2000

Monthly average house price, smoothed. Dorset’s is 3.5 times its 2000 level, slower than South West’s.

House prices since 2000Average house price each month for Dorset, South West, England, January 2000 to July 2026. Source: UK House Price Index.
House prices since 2000
MonthDorsetSouth WestEngland
Jan 2000£93,275£78,545£71,017
Jan 2001£107,141£88,890£79,663
Jan 2002£121,610£105,163£90,840
Jan 2003£156,194£136,523£114,816
Jan 2004£173,919£152,972£131,914
Jan 2005£193,495£169,711£149,713
Jan 2006£197,720£174,840£157,240
Jan 2007£218,040£190,711£171,666
Jan 2008£236,515£200,690£181,037
Jan 2009£196,699£167,438£153,585
Jan 2010£210,129£181,839£164,711
Jan 2011£211,303£182,406£164,697
Jan 2012£212,956£183,323£164,449
Jan 2013£212,764£183,206£166,938
Jan 2014£222,288£191,343£177,748
Jan 2015£234,973£205,460£191,523
Jan 2016£249,319£218,652£208,050
Jan 2017£261,306£230,507£218,655
Jan 2018£275,877£243,733£227,594
Jan 2019£273,760£245,759£230,974
Jan 2020£277,625£248,521£234,049
Jan 2021£295,819£263,614£249,890
Jan 2022£321,064£291,018£270,231
Jan 2023£342,170£309,102£285,817
Jan 2024£327,741£299,150£278,060
Jan 2025£328,561£301,828£287,264
Jan 2026£328,072£300,627£290,511
Jul 2026£325,154£302,298£293,479

Wards in Dorset52

Middle areas in Dorset48

Constituencies mostly in Dorset5

Neighbourhoods in Dorset223
Dorset in brief

Dorset’s average house price was £325,154 in July 2026.

Full-time workers living in Dorset earned a median of £37,462 in 2025.

A home in Dorset costs 8.7 times local full-time pay.

Dorset has a deprivation score of 16.3 in the English Indices of Deprivation 2025.